Not far ago Jaggu Bhuiyan of Karma Tand in Panki block under Palamu district killed himself due to payment irregularities against the works done under the UPA flagship scheme MGNREGA. His death was not a rare case in this regard as Shiv Shankar of Tarhasi block and Tapas Soren of Bokaro had met the similar fate before.
Worrying is to know that NREGA labourers of Jharkhand have whopping Rs28.45 crore due with the Government and the figure is counting.
latest data revealing the delayed payment status underlines that total of 34,5,759 transactions involving Rs2,845.98 lakh are pending for various reasons during the financial year 2013-14. The amount is out of total 71,05,443 transactions made in the State in the period. The total payment made during the financial year has been Rs590.90 crore.
“The figure is more than alarming for the State as poor as Jharkhand. If one has to judge the scheme based on 2-3 indicators this is the first and foremost indicator. The very purpose of the scheme has not been fulfilled that was not only to provide guaranteed employment but also hard cash in the hands of the most marginalised,” says Balram, a noted NREGA activist.